Workshop report—Vulnerability in multi-hazard risks: Addressing its complexity and dynamics

TL;DR

Researchers met to discuss how to better understand and address complex risks by integrating different fields and improving data sharing.

Contribution

The paper outlines three key areas for advancing vulnerability research through interdisciplinary integration and data interoperability.

Findings

Interdisciplinary integration is needed to bridge epistemological divides.

Data interoperability can enhance robustness and policy relevance.

Vulnerability assessments should balance complexity with local context.

Abstract

In November 2025, an interdisciplinary group of vulnerability researchers met in Munich and identified three challenge-opportunity clusters: first, overcoming epistemological divides to enable meaningful interdisciplinary integration. Second, the interoperability of data, methods, and evidence can strengthen robustness and policy relevance. Third, vulnerability assessments must adopt fit-for-purpose levels of complexity that preserve local context while enabling cross-scalar translation. This backstory is a call-to-action to accelerate the transition of the field toward robust, policy-salient, and socially legitimate integrative and interdisciplinary research.

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